The Thin End

When it comes to climate change, our failure is our duty to care for the planet and our children. As we approach the COP26 meeting in the U.K., we see few signs that world governance has grasped the problem. Governments seek votes rather than take the difficult decisions we all face. There is more 'blah, blah. blah,' than action.  If a neighbour sets out to systematically destroy your garden, you consider your right to be protected from such behaviour. It is a matter of human rights and law. Yet, it seems the rights of a child have no bearing in international justice.  In a stunning decision, the United Nations (U.N.) Committee on the Rights of the Child, the global human rights body tasked with protecting children's rights, refused to hear the case of 16 youth from around the world threatened by the climate crisis. The young people argued that five G20 countries are violating their rights to life, health, and culture under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by faili...

The bells toll louder now, but will we listen and act?  The UK is hosting the climate summit, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, at the end of October. No doubt it will set new targets or reiterate old ones, but more is needed.  Politicians need to face reality.  We need to set new goals for our economy and the way we live. It will require the most massive investment, probably bigger than the bail-out of the banking system.  If we can bail out the banks, we can save the environment from a cataclysmic global crisis. But governments need to be honest with their citizens.  Trading emissions is no longer an option.  It simply allows the wealthy and rich countries to park their responsibility onto the shoulders of others.  No doubt, the UK will boast about approaching its targets in reducing carbon emissions.  Sadly this is all a sleight of hand.  The UK has, in large part, achieved that by exporting its carbon emissions.  If the U...